HANOI, Vietnam - A dissident monk in Vietnam set a date on Monday for a fresh showdown with the communist authorities over religious freedom by vowing to defy a ban on visiting his detained leader on June 7.
A statement from a support group said Thich Quang Do wrote to the Hanoi leadership on Sunday saying he would lead a delegation that day to Quang Ngai province to bring 83-year-old Thich Huyen Quang to Ho Chi Minh City for medical treatment.
The Paris-based International Buddhist Information Bureau said Quang, the patriarch of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, has been under house arrest for 19 years in the central province of Quang Ngai.
He was in poor health and urgently needed medical care, it added.
The statement said Do considered his plan to bring Quang to Ho Chi Minh City "completely legitimate" as the patriarch had been formally released by police in November 1997, although he remains under house arrest.
The Buddhist bureau said it was gravely concerned about the safety of the two monks after Do refused a demand to present himself for questioning by local communist authorities on Monday following interrogation sessions last week.
It quoted Do as having said he was willing to risk his liberty and even life to help Quang and other oppressed people.
"If I am imprisoned, it will bring me closer to the people," he was quoted as saying. "If I am killed, I shall die to bring compassion and save humankind..."
Last Friday, a day after the arrest of Nguyen Van Ly, a dissident Catholic priest accused of spreading propaganda against the government, Do told Reuters local People's Committee officials had accused him of seeking to undermine the government.
Ly's arrest suggests new Communist Party leader Nong Duc Manh, who took up his job last month, may be taking a tougher line against dissidents than his predecessor, belying initial hopes.
James Kelly, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Asian and Pacific affairs, was in Vietnam last Friday and raised the religious freedom issue with Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien. He specifically referred to Ly.
He said afterwards Ly's arrest would not help a historic trade pact between the former enemies signed last year, which has still to be ratified by the U.S. Congress.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said last Thursday Ly had violated his probation by continuing to act against the government.
Hanoi insists its citizens have full religious freedom but it has frequently been criticised by rights groups for harassing clergy.